There was a sense of role reversal on Monday about Laura Robson’s
straight-sets win over Venus Williams.

She was just 10 and a wide-eyed spectator at Wimbledon when she first saw the American. “I couldn’t believe how hard she hit the ball,” said Robson, as she cast her mind back to 2004.

As the players battled in gale-force winds on Campo Centrale on Monday, it was Williams who found herself overpowered by Robson’s ferocious hitting off the ground.

Admittedly, the five-time Wimbledon champion might not be in the best of health, having pulled out of last week’s event in Madrid because of a lower back problem. But you can never take a Williams lightly; even when they are carrying injuries, both Venus and Serena bring a tigerish determination to the court.

Robson’s 6-3, 6-2 victory added another significant scalp to what is a growing collection; she has now beaten four former grand slam champions over the past year. And to go into the third round, she will have to do it all over again, only with knobs on. Her opponent on Tuesday evening, in the final night match at the Foro Italico, will be Serena.

“I feel good about that match actually,” said a chipper Robson. “I’ve never played Serena before and I’ve always wanted to. It will be a good test. She’s playing pretty much the best tennis of her life right now. She’s not losing at all. It’s going to be insanely tough, but I’m going to go out there with nothing to lose.”

It was hard to judge how high Robson’s level was on Monday, because the match was a staccato affair. The wind was whipping great gusts of clay into the faces of both players and spectators, and forcing them to pause in between serves. And even when the points did get going, Williams was reluctant to become involved in lengthy rallies, preferring to aim for wonder shots which too often turned into blunder shots.

Robson might have been accused of immaturity last week by her outgoing coach Zeljko Krajan, who said: “She needed to be more serious and to commit herself more.” But she showed a cool head on Monday, keeping her focus even when the occasional blip crept in on her serve. A tally of eight double faults might sound high, but it was actually not a bad return on such a blustery day.

“The hardest part for me was having to wait so long between first and second serves sometimes,” Robson said afterwards. “I was pretty pumped to be playing Venus. I remember saying when I was 14 that I wanted to play her.

"In fact I’m pretty sure I said I would take her down in a BBC interview after the junior final at Wimbledon. My mum sent it to me the other day when the draw came out to remind me of it – as if I could ever forget saying something so stupid!

“I finally got my wish. It was definitely a tough draw, but I’ve had my fair share of easier draws this year that I haven’t taken advantage of, so I was really excited to get out there today. Sven Groeneveld, the head coach for Team Adidas, was telling me to calm down before the match because I was so excited, I was jumping around for about an hour. So, I’m really excited to play Serena.”

It is no easy feat to beat the Williams sisters in successive matches, but they have played so many tournaments that seven players have managed it in the past. The most recent instance came here in Rome three years ago, with Jelena Jankovic acting as executioner.

As for the coaching question, Robson seemed in no hurry to replace Krajan, a disciplinarian who wanted her to commit more wholeheartedly to a back-breaking training schedule.

“As long as I have someone to help me with my own game I’m happy, and that’s what Sven can do,” she said. “Any tactical stuff really I should know by now; I’ve been on tour for long enough to understand how the majority of the girls play and I should be working that sort of stuff out myself, really.

“I haven’t had on-court coaching in the last few matches so that’s not a big issue. Last year, I was pretty much coach-less at this time, or around Wimbledon anyway – I didn’t have Zeljko until after the Olympics – and that seemed to work out quite well.”